Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has finalised its entry in the 2019 FIM Trial-E Cup with the TY-E electric trials bike for the second successive year. Kenichi Kuroyama will once again ride for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team as he aims to clinch the title win that he narrowly missed last year, finishing 2nd overall by just three points.
The Trial-E Cup began in 2017 with just a single round, but that number was increased to two last season. This third season of the competition will again consist of two rounds, held alongside Round 3 of the FIM Trial World Championship in Zelhem in the Netherlands (June 22–23) and Round 4 in Comblain-au-Pont in Belgium (June 29–30).
Kuroyama is a top-class trials rider with a record 11 All Japan Trial Championship titles and has finished a career-best 3rd in the FIM Trial World Championship. He is riding for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in the All Japan Trial Championship’s premier IA Super class and currently sits atop the point standings with a 2nd at Round 1 in Wakayama and a win at Round 2 in Miyazaki.
The TY-E made its debut in the Trial-E Cup with Kuroyama last year. The Japanese rider was in close contention for victory at the opening round in France and eventually triumphed by riding to 2 marks and 28 cleans for the win. The scene was similar at the next round in Belgium, but this time Kuroyama fell short of a second win, finishing 2nd. This tied him with his rival on total points with a 1st and 2nd place finish each, but the series rules place priority on the final round’s results, thus Kuroyama and the TY-E ended their first Trial E-Cup campaign as the runner-up.
Kenichi Kuroyama
Yamaha Factory Racing Team